One of You Dies Today
by Wolf of the Frozen Flame
Summary: Hiei and Kurama are on a mission together and get ambushed by an army of demons. Choose either Kurama's POV or Hiei's POV. Rated for violence and death.
1. Background Info

Me: Hello everyone! It's Wolf of the Frozen Flame and I'd just like to tell you mmmrrrrppphhhhh!!!!!  
  
Hiei: -with hand over my mouth- She doesn't own Yu Yu Hakusho. She doesn't own me. She doesn't own anything except the clothes on her back.  
  
Me: struggling Mmmmrrrrpppppphhhhh!!!!!!!!  
  
Hiei: Sorry, what was that?  
  
Me: -still struggling- MMMMRRRRRPPPPPPHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Hiei: I still can't hear you.  
  
Me: -jerking wildly in Hiei's grasp- MMMMMMMMRRRRRRRPPPPPPHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Hiei: Oh, well. Let's start the story, shall we?  
  
Me: -quiets down- Mmmmrrrrrppphhhh hhhhrrrrppphhhhh.  
  
Hiei: Okay. -releases me- Now…  
  
Me: -gasping for breath- Don't…forget…to…tell…them…  
  
Hiei: Oh, right. You have to review!!! -gets evil look on face- If you don't, I'll rip this bandage off my arm and I'll…  
  
Me: Don't scare them away!!!  
  
Hiei: -looks disappointed- Oh, fine.  
  
Me: Start the story, already!  
  
Hiei: -shrugs- Okay.  
  
-----Background-----  
  
Koenma sent Hiei and Kurama on a mission to find the secret base of a new evil organization, the Shingai.  
  
The Shingai poses a threat to the very existence of the three worlds. It is made up of the many Masters of different arts and elements, almost like the Shinobi, except much more exposed and deadly. Hiei and Kurama were sent by Koenma to discover the location of the Shingai's hideout.  
  
When they found the base, they were ambushed by at least one hundred lower-class demons, thearmy of the Masters.  
  
For Hiei's point of view and reflection of the battle, go to Chapter 2: Hiei.  
For Kurama's point of view and reflection of the battle, go to Chapter 3: Kurama.  
  
(Note: shingai means terror in Japanese) 


	2. Hiei

Me: Hiei's gone for a while so I, Wolf of the Frozen Flame, can run the show now!  
  
Hiei: -appears out of nowhere- What did you say, baka?!?  
  
Me: -yelps- I don't own YYH. Please review, people! (And by the way, this is not yaoi.)  
…………………

Chapter 1: Hiei

…………………  
  
Kurama was a fool. Too kind for his own good. Actually he was the kindest, most caring, most honorable person I have ever known. The only one who had ever bothered to befriend me, the ruthless midget half-breed three-eyed freak show.  
  
And what did it get him?  
  
I told him to run. To save himself. But he refused to leave my side. He refused to leave the side of his partner. Refused to leave the side of his friend.  
  
And what did it get him?  
  
He was injured. Practically bleeding to death. One more blow like that would easily have finished him. Still he stayed with me, fighting to the last.  
  
And what did it get him?  
  
-----FLASHBACK-----  
  
"KURAMA!!!" "AAAAHHHH!!!" Kurama was down, bleeding profusely from a gaping wound in his back. The massive dagger lay bloodstained on the ground next to him. I twirled my katana, cutting off the head of the nearest demon. I rapidly hacked my way through the onslaught of demons to my wounded friend. When I reached him, I was able to create a temporary barrier around us with my Jagan.  
  
"Are you all right, fox?" I asked, kneeling beside him. He opened his eyes and stared at me. "I think so. The wound is painful, but not life threatening, and in time it will heal. But if I suffer another wound like this..." He trailed off. After a sickening look at his wound, I made up my mind. "Kurama, when the barrier comes down, I want you to run."  
  
He looked up at me in surprise. "What?" "Here." I grabbed his arm and pulled him up. "On your feet." I surveyed the demons still trying to break through, avoiding his gaze. Kurama was persistant. "What do you mean?" "Just do as I ask," I answered coldly.  
  
"You want me to leave you here."  
  
That was not a question. It was more of an accusation. I sighed. "Kurama, you and I both know what will happen if you continue fighting. I'll hold them off long enough for you to get away," I replied with no emotion in my voice.  
  
"So you want me to leave you here," he repeated.  
  
Even though I wasn't looking at him, I could feel those peircing green eyes boring holes right through me. "Yes, that's right. I want you to leave me here to deal with the scum." I jerked my head toward the demons outside. The sudden motion set off the pain from a cut in my neck, and a growl of discomfort escaped my throat. Kurama almost smirked. "You're not exactly in prime condition, either." "I'm better off than you are." "I wouldn't say that."  
  
He glanced down at my bloody leg, then up again at my ripped chest, cut arms, and bruised face. I scowled. "I'll be fine. You just go. I'll follow when I get the chance."  
  
Kurama shook his head. "Either we both stay or we both go. I'm not leaving without you." "Baka ijizuku kitsune," I muttered under my breath."I heard that," Kurama stated. I ignored him.  
  
"I can't hold the barrier much longer. Be ready."  
  
Kurama confidently whipped a rose out of his hair. But by the way the flower flickered, I knew that he was very weak.  
  
Sighing, I drew my katana. "Now."  
  
The barrier dropped.  
  
"Rose Whip!" shouted Kurama. The whip extended, but he didn't have complete control. It slashed him down the arm. He cried out, and five demons jumped on top of him, taking advantage of his surprise.  
  
"Kurama!"  
  
I fought two off me and whipped my katana around in a blur of flashing metal. Three of my friend's attackers fell dead. I kicked one off him while thrusting my sword through the other. Then I pulled him up.  
  
"Run," I whispered. "But..." "Just go!" I yelled as two demons grabbed me from behind. "GO!"  
  
Fire blazed in the fox's eyes. "I won't let you die," he panted as bursts of flaring energy exploded from his body. "You're not strong enough! You'll kill yourself!"I shouted, but he ignored my words.  
  
His blazing energy ripped through the field, burning everything it touched to cinders. The pink energy flames made the grass grow to ten times its normal height.The blades of grass sharpened at the tips and thrust themselves through many of the demons, including the two holding me back. A few even punctured my flesh in the disarray.  
  
The shrieks of the dying demons filled the air for what seemed like hours. When everyone was dead, Kurama fell to the ground, shaking and panting.  
  
"Kurama." I pulled myself up from where I had fallen and ran to his side. "Are you all right?" I asked for the second time. "I...think so," he mumbled. "Just...tired..." "We have to get out of here. The Masters are probably coming for us at this very moment. Here." I pulled him up again and let him rest on my shoulder.  
  
Then I felt something. "Kurama..." "I feel it too." An arrow whizzed right by my ear. I quickly drew my katana and sliced through another arrow headed straight for Kurama's head.  
  
It seemed we had been mistaken. Not all of our adversaries had been defeated. Twenty of them came charging form behind a massive boulder that had shielded them from Kurama's attack.  
  
"I want you to go now," I said as more arrows flew toward us. "No." "Please, Kurama." "I can't leave you. I won't leave you. You're too weak to take them by yourself." I was weak, it was true, but Kurama was weaker. He wouldn't survive.  
  
I pushed him off me, away from our attackers. "Go!"  
  
Then they were upon us.  
  
-----End Flashback-----  
  
To me, Kurama had always been the wise one, the one who would think something through one hundred times before taking action. So it was shock to me that he was willing to be so blind.  
  
He was blinded by those ridiculous ningen emotions he loved so dearly. He constantly said they were the best thing he had ever had, that they made him stronger and more powerful than ever before. I say they made him weak.  
  
I have always thought the ningen emotions were dangerous. I told him so time after time.  
  
But he always just sighed, shook his head, and muttered, "Someday you will understand."  
  
I had been right, as usual. If he had been the legendary Youko he had once been, he would have only done what was in his own benefit. Everything else was secondary. But he was not the demon he used to be, and ningen emotions had clouded his vision.  
  
What a fool he was!  
  
-----Flashback-----  
  
The dagger hit him square in the chest. I saw it happen.  
  
We were down to the last two demons. All our other enemies were either dead or dying.  
  
Then, a sword slashed deep into my back. I cried out and dropped to the ground in pain. Kurama kicked the other demon off him and spun around. Just as my attacker was about to deal the killing stroke, a burst of pink light erupted from Kurama's outstretched palm. He didn't see a dying demon fling a huge dagger right toward his heart.  
  
The fox's energy didn't kill my adversary, but it stunned him long enough for me to recover and kill him. I whirled around. "Kurama, look out!" I yelled in warning. But I was too late.  
  
The demon's aim was straight and true. Before Kurama even had time to blink the hilt of the knife was jutting out of his chest. He stared in shocked horror at the thing embedded in his body. "Kurama!"He looked up at me. His normally sparkling, attentive eyes dulled and grew unfocused. "Hiei..." Then he fell.  
  
"KURAMA!!"  
  
Our enemies all dead, I sped to his side. He was still breathing, but I knew he was almost finished. I pulled his body close to me. He looked up at me with those eyes, those piercing green eyes. "Hiei," he whispered, "Did we win?" My throat unable to make a sound, I nodded. He smiled. "Good. Now...I...can go." Then he closed his eyes for the last time, never to open them again.  
  
-----End Flashback-----  
  
I'll never forgive myself for making the sound the sealed Kurama's fate. I will always live with the knowledge that I could have stopped it. If I hadn't yelled, Kurama would never have turned to help me. And he never would have died.  
  
My life was more important to him than his own. He opened himself to attack just to save me. If Kurama hadn't turned, the demon would have killed me. But then Kurama would have lived on with the guilt that he could have prevented it from happening.  
  
But isn't my feeling the same? Do I not feel guilt? Was my friend's life more important to me than my own?  
  
Now I realize that it was. Perhaps now is the time Kurama always talked of, when I would come to understand human emotion. But now I realize that I have understood it all along. Perhaps he did not mean my understanding emotion. Perhaps he meant my realization of the emotion within me, and the importance emotion has in life.  
  
Now I understand that emotion is not just limited to humans. It is within everyone, no matter how hard they try to mask it or how deep it is buried.  
  
I don't know what he meant. I suppose now I'll never know. But I do know that I will never forget my only friend.  
  
The cunning fox.  
  
The caring human.  
  
Kurama.

.....................  
Japanese translation:  
  
baka- fool

ijizuku- stubborn

kitsune- fox

youko- spirit fox (refers to Youko Kurama)


	3. Kurama

Me: -struggling against ropes that hold me to a chair-  
  
Hiei: Frozen Flame is a little, uh, _tied up_ right now. She asked me to tell you that she does not and never will own Yu Yu Hakusho.  
  
Me: -speaking through a gag- Eeeeooooooosssss!!!!  
  
Hiei: Oh yeah, she wants reviews too.  
  
(By the way, this is not yaoi)  
…………………

Chapter 2: Kurama

…………………  
  
I'll never forget that horrible day. The day someone I cared for was lost forever.  
  
This is the second time in my life someone I cared for has been taken from me because of my own foolishness. This is the second person I have cared for that has lost their life because of me. And I called myself their friend.  
  
In my life there have been very few people that I have sworn loyalty to. As a youko I am not so quick to trust, and not so quick to be trusted. In fact, most despise youkos. But those people have had my complete honesty, trust, and faithfulness, and I have had theirs.  
  
Shiori, my human mother.  
  
Kuronue, my old partner.  
  
Hiei, the fire demon.  
  
Of the three, two have died. And it was because of me, the one that vowed to stand by them no matter what.  
  
Kuronue had been very special to me. He had known who I was, what I was, and yet it didn't seem to matter to him. He was the first to trust me when no one else would. And in return I granted him my trust. Then he died.  
  
Hiei was the same way. He sought me out, even though by then I was a human, a weakling in his eyes. But he trusted me with his life, even before we formally met. Then he, like Kuronue, died.  
  
In fact he died exactly the way Kuronue did. Kuronue told me to run. He told me to save myself. He told me that he would follow me soon. So I ran. But he did not follow. I watched him die while I stood by and let it happen. After his death I vowed never again to let the same thing happen. Yet it did.  
  
-----Flashback-----  
  
"KURAMA!!!" "AAHHHHH!!!" The dagger hit me hard in the back. I reached behind me and yanked it out. It was huge, three times the size of a normal dagger. And the whole thing, from tip to hilt, shone red with my blood. I dropped the knife and fell to the ground in pain.  
  
In a flash Hiei sliced his way through the onslaught of demons attacking us and was beside me. He created a temporary barrier around us.  
  
"Are you all right, fox?"he asked, kneeling at my side. I forced my eyes open. "I think so," I answered. "The wound is painful, but not life threatening, and in time it will heal." He sighed in relief. "But, if I suffer another wound like this..."  
  
I trailed off, not wanting to worry him. But my words had already taken their toll.  
  
He looked away from me and said, "Kurama, when this barrier comes down, I want you to run."  
  
I looked up at my friend in surprise. "What?" I asked. He ignored me. "Here," he said, grabbing my arm and pulling me up. "On your feet, fox."  
  
He released my arm when he was confident I could maintain my balance and stared outside the barrier at the demons still trying to get through. He looked like he was coming up with a plan, but I knew he was just trying to avoid me.  
  
"What do you mean?" I asked persistently. He sighed in annoyance. "Just do as I ask," he answered coldly.  
  
I was confused and hurt. Hiei never asked anyone to back down. Did he think I was weak, too weak to be anything more than an annoyance?  
  
"You want me to leave you here."  
  
That didn't come out exactly how I had planned. But still I was angry at him for ever thinking I would leave him and run like a coward.  
  
"Kurama, you and I both know what will happen if you continue fighting. I'll hold them off long enough for you to get away," he replied with seemingly no emotion in his voice. But I could hear the concern.  
  
Then I realized Hiei was worried about me. He didn't want me to get hurt. But I didn't want to see him hurt for my sake. I couldn't leave him to fight alone. He couldn't take all those demons and still live to tell the tale. He and I both knew that.  
  
"So you want me to leave you here," I repeated.  
  
I stared at him, and he flinched under my gaze. "Yes, that's right. I want you to leave me here to deal with the scum." He jerked his head toward the demons outside. Then he growled in discomfort when the sudden movement pulled at a deep cut in his neck.  
  
I retained a smirk. "You're not exactly in prime condition, either," I truthfully stated. "I'm better off than you are," he retorted.

"I wouldn't say that." I looked over his mangled, bloody body. He scowled. "I'll be fine. You just go. I'll follow when I get the chance."  
  
I shook my head. "Either we both stay or we both go. I'm not leaving without you."  
  
"Baka ijizuku kitsune," Hiei muttered."I heard that," I said absentmindedly. He ignored me.  
  
"I can't hold the barrier much longer. Be ready," he warned.  
  
Trying to seem as confident as usual, I whipped a rose out of my hair. But the flower flickered, and both he and I knew that I was very weak.  
  
Sighing, Hiei drew his katana. "Now."  
  
The barrier dropped.  
  
"Rose Whip!" I shouted. The whip extended, but the instant it did I knew I didn't have complete control. It slashed me down the arm. I cried out. Five demons took advantage of my painful shock and jumped on top of me.  
  
"Kurama!" I heard Hiei yell.  
  
In a blur of flashing metal three of my attackers fell dead. He kicked one off me while thrusting his sword through the other. Then he pulled me up.  
  
"Run," he whispered. "But..." I protested. "Just go!" he yelled as two demons grabbed him from behind. "GO!"  
  
I knew I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. I had to help him. "I won't let you die," I panted as bursts of flaring energy exploded from my body. "You're not strong enough! You'll kill yourself!" he shouted, but I ignored his words.  
  
My blazing energy ripped through the field, burning everything it touched to cinders. The pink energy flames made the grass grow to ten times its normal height.The blades of grass sharpened at the tips and thrust themselves through many of the demons, including the two holding my friend back. I saw him fall as a few hit him, but I was totally out of control. I couldn't stop myself.  
  
Shrieks of dying demons filled the air. But finally, after what seemed like hours, all our enemies lay dead, and I ran out of energy. I fell to the ground, shaking and panting.  
  
"Kurama." Hiei pulled himself up from where he had fallen and ran to my side. "Are you all right?" he asked for the second time. "I...think so,"I mumbled. "Just...tired..." "We have to get out of here. The Masters are probably coming for us at this very moment. Here." I felt Hiei grasp my arm and pull me up again. He let me rest on his shoulder.  
  
Then I felt something. "Hiei..." "I feel it too." An arrow whizzed right byhis ear. He quickly drew his katana and sliced through another arrow headed straight for my head.  
  
It seemed we had been mistaken. Not all of our adversaries had been defeated. Twenty of them came charging form behind a massive boulder that had shielded them from my attack.  
  
"I want you to go now," Hiei said as more arrows flew toward us. "No." "Please, Kurama." "I can't leave you. I won't leave you. You're too weak to take them by yourself." I knew I probably wouldn't survive, but I could not just leave my friend to die.  
  
Hiei pushed me off him, away from our attackers. "Go!"  
  
"I can't..." "Please, Kurama!" I looked straight at him and saw the pleading look in his eyes. I realized he wasn't telling me to go. Nor was he asking me. He was begging me.  
  
Our enemies came closer and closer. I stood frozen, now unsure of what to do. Hiei grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me hard. "Run, fox. Run and don't look back."  
  
And I ran. Like a coward I ran. When I was a safe distance away, I looked back, even though he told me not to. And I watched him die.  
  
The demons came down upon him like a pack of hungry wolves. Hiei fought bravely, taking down at least seven.  
  
Then a demon caught him by surprise and kicked him in the face. The demon snatched his katana and slashed a deep wound in his back. He cried out and dropped to the ground in pain. He was able to recover quickly, though, and rolled swiftly away from the killing stroke.  
  
He attempted to leap up, but by that time some demons had pulled out chains. They lassoed the strings of metal around his neck and arms and held him there, helpless, while their partners laughed at his futile attempts to free himself. One or two whipped him with the chains, and the others laughed.  
  
Finally the leader drew his bow and arrows. One by one, he shot six arrows at close range into Hiei's chest. Hiei fell to his knees, breathing slowly and heavily. The gang of demons laughed. Then they dispersed to search for me. They left him, dying, on the ground.  
  
He looked up into the hills to make sure I was safe. Finally his wandering gaze found me.  
  
Our eyes locked. "Go, Kurama." His whispered words caught on the soft breeze and drifted up to me. My eyes wet with tears, I nodded in understanding. The ends of his mouth twitched in a small smile. Then he fell, never to rise again.  
  
-----End Flashback-----  
  
I always thought Hiei was the strong one. The one who would pull through no matter what injuries he suffered. I was wrong. No one is invincible. I've known that all along and yet the realization still comes as a shock to me.  
  
Perhaps I allowed my feelings to cloud my judgment. Perhaps it was just the feeling of security that came with Hiei's presence. Perhaps I'll never know.  
  
Now I am left alone. With no one. No one to talk to like I would talk to Hiei. No one who understands me the way Hiei did. No one to share my fears with, my dreams with, my anger, my sadness, my happiness with, like I would share those things with Hiei.  
  
And the only one I have to blame is myself.  
…………………

Japanese translation:  
  
baka- fool

ijizuku- stubborn

kitsune- fox

youko- spirit fox (refers to Youko Kurama)  
  
Hiei: You killed me! I can't believe you killed me! I thought I was your favorite character!  
  
Me: -hiding behind desk- It was for story purposes…  
  
Hiei: You baka insensitive onna!  
  
Me: Hey! Who are you calling insensitive, Mr. Insensitive?!?  
  
Hiei: -starts chasing me with katana- BAKA ONNA!! I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S INSENSITIVE!!! BAKA!! BAKA ONNA!!!


End file.
